The oil rig spilling oil in the Gulf of Mexico has further undermined the chances a climate bill will pass the Senate. One part of the bill would permit offshore oil drilling. Without more safeguards, this provision could now scuttle the bill. Some senators want bigger buffers, others more study.
Archive for April, 2010
Oil rig blast complicates push for energy and climate bill
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010Failure is not an option
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010The New York Time’s Thomas Friedman chastises Congress for ceding “the next great global industry” — energy technology — to China, and urges President Obama to exert sustained leadership to pass an energy bill that prices carbon. His support has political risks, but it’s citical to America’s 21st century
Australia suspends emissions trading proposal
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010The U.S. isn’t the only place where the legislature and the electoral cycle conspire to frustrate action on climate change. Australia’s Labor government just put on hold its emissions trading bill, which faced a third defeat in the Senate. Some think the fight will resume right after elections.
Who will build the first offshore wind farm in North America?
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010In a way, this New York Times headline is a trick question. It really doesn’t matter who builds the first North American offshore wind farm. What matters is that the U.S. develops an offshore wind industry to provide some of its energy needs and to compete with Europe, China, and Japan, who are far ahead.
Selling agriculture 2.0 to Silicon Valley
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010Venture capitalists invested billions in Silicon Valley’s technology firms. Their next big thing is sustainable agriculture. More and more are aware that conventional agriculture wastes water and energy, and worsens climate change. These concerns create markets for technological innovation.
Cape wind and Mr. Salazar
Monday, April 26th, 2010In an editorial today, the New York Times endorses the Cape Wind plan to build an offshore wind farm off Massachusetts. Arguing that the “enormous promise” outweighs the objections, the Times urges Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to approve the project, compensating the Indians and doing more test borings.
Solar power to the people, with a lot of public help
Monday, April 26th, 2010Last Thursday was Earth Day. Students at a school near San Francisco visited a solar power installation, on the school grounds. The developer owns and operates the system, and sells the power to the school. Such government incentives are both common and effective, generating many start-ups and local jobs.
Room for debate: California’s solar scorecard
Monday, April 26th, 2010The New York Times asks five solar experts for the lessons learned from California’s goal of one million homes with solar roofs by 2018. Today only about 60,000 homes have solar panels, partly due to apathy. Costs are declining, but are still too high, so the state should invest in technology, not subsidies.
How to green your parents
Monday, April 26th, 2010This feel-good article from the New York Times via the Academy for Global Citizenship launches Green My Parents, a national effort to inspire and organize kids to lead their families toward greener lives. It will train 100 youth advocates who will echo-train 100 peers, etc., to save money and the Earth.
For oil sands project, a step forward
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010The State Department’s draft environmental impact statement for a pipeline to carry crude oil from tar sand fields in Canada to refineries in Texas found “limited adverse environmental impacts.” Environmentalists object, saying the draft ignores that CO2 from tar sands exceeds regular oil by 20%.